Nature Study For The Mom Who Doesn’t Love The Outdoors

If you love the idea of nature study but are a less than “outdoorsy” homeschool mom, these resources will help you expose your child to nature without losing your mind!

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Before I had children, I spent most of my time working in big cities.

New York.

Boston.

San Francisco.

Seattle.

Los Angeles.

If I walked, it was a few blocks to the office, to the coffee shop, or to the nail salon. I enjoyed that life. It suited me.

I haven’t gone camping since I was 15 years old. I like air conditioning, a lot. I prefer floors that stay clean, with the outside things staying outside. I am not what one would call “outdoorsy.”

This however, was me last week.

It’s not pretty. But it does represent a shift I made years ago when I realized how important the outdoors was to my son and his learning.

It still is.

Today, I am sharing all my tips and tricks for surviving, and even enjoying, nature study as a not so outdoorsy mom.

When Nature Study Makes Sense For Your Child

My youngest LOVES being outside.

He loves bugs. He doesn’t even notice dirt. He loves the ocean, the lake, the mountains, and the desert. He lets the dog lick his face (ugh) and the tortoise crawl all over him.

When he was 18 months old, I lost him for a few seconds in a corn maze on Halloween. I scrambled around looking for him and then walked around a corner. I found him as happy as could be, rolling around in the largest mud puddle I had ever seen.

This is a picture of him taken at age 10.

Not much has changed. 

This same boy was in the hospital for more than a week a few years ago.

It’s safe to say that it was the worst week of both of our lives.

One night, the sun was going down and my son was staring out the window from his hospital bed, four floors up.

“I miss the grass on my feet. I miss the trees. I miss the smell of the air outside,” he said, tears streaming down his face.

That was the moment – the moment I became an outdoorsy mom.

Sure, I had tolerated, placated and even, at times, encouraged his “boy-ness.”

I had allowed him to get dirty and just looked the other way.

I had done what I could to make sure he got to the park to play and get all that energy out. But I never really understood until that night in the hospital how visceral his need is to connect with nature.

It’s how he relates to others and to the world at large. It’s how he learns and makes sense of things.

It’s an essential element of his very soul.

Since then, I have been intentional about not only getting this child outside as much as possible, but nature study as well. I always thought of nature study as something all those really cool, calm moms do with their cool, calm kids.

Determined to fake it until I make it, I tried to incorporate a specific day of nature study in our homeschool routine. I also made it a point to get my youngest outside for as long as he liked, every single day.

This approach is still part of our routine, years later.

Nature Study For The Not So “Outdoorsy” Mom

Here is what finally made it work for both my child AND for me:

Keep It Simple

I think nature study is something I always thought was kind of complicated. The nature journals I admire have intricate drawings with watercolor accents, detailed descriptions of birds and their anatomy, and perfect handwriting.

We just collect things we find beautiful along the way and sometimes draw pictures of the scenery.

It may not be as extensive, or even as educational, but my entire family still enjoys this easy approach.

Give It A Day

The only way I found to really make this work is to dedicate a day to it every week or two. Instead of trying to squeeze it in and stress out over how to make it squeeze it in, I simply picked a day without any other requirements, clear the school schedule and go.

One week, we went to the beach. It was heaven.

A few weeks prior, we planted a garden. Beautiful.

We have also went on local hikes, started a butterfly kit, and went on numerous “night walks” to look at the stars.

None of these activities required any planning on my part, other than simply picking the day and prioritizing the time.

Let Someone Else Do The Work

A friend of mine is naturally “outdoorsy.” She makes regular hikes and trips to the beach for her own spirit as well as her children’s. At first, I just thought about her week and tried to do what she did.

Then, I learned her secret!

She completes “Outdoor Hour Challenges” with her kids every week and gets them all from Homeschool Nature Study.

It’s all planned out and ready to go before she even adds nature study to her homeschool calendar.

They have a free resource too, a Getting Started in Homeschool Nature Study Guide to make things as simple as possible.

Allow Yourself To Breathe

The most surprising development in all of this is how much I am enjoying it. I find myself breathing deeply, soaking it all in, and honestly, relaxing.

The more time I spend paying attention to beauty, marveling at Creation, and seeing my sons’ joy in it, the more I want to do it.

I just might be “outdoorsy” after all.

Who knew?